Ma says cross-strait visit rules should be relaxed

The Mainland Affairs Council should relax its policies regarding visits by Taiwan officials to China, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.

Ma made the comments yesterday in response to the council's proposed guidelines on visits by Taiwan officials -- dubbed the "Eight No's" -- and on the eve of the departure for Shanghai of a 23-member Taipei city delegation for a six-day visit.

But the council says it hasn't issued any such guidelines and claims the idea of the "Eight No's" was actually put forth by a member of the delegation headed for Shanghai.

"We didn't take the initiative to lay down such ground rules," said Lin Chong-pin (林中斌), MAC vice chairman. "It was one of the delegation members who proposed the idea."

But Pang Chien-kuo (龐建國), a People First Party city councilor and a member of the Taipei delegation, said Ling was wrong.

"Although we touched on the issue [with the council], do you think we suggested it?" said Pang.

On Thursday, KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖), a member of the delegation, said that the council had proposed the "Eight No's" during a closed-door meeting between the group and Chen Ming-tung (陳明通), a vice chairman of the council.

The "Eight No's" refer to ground rules reportedly set by MAC in response to a recent spate of visits by opposition party members to China.

The rules include not having any contact with China's central government, keeping a low profile during visits, refraining from signing any pacts and agreements, restricting discussion to city exchanges and avoiding meeting officials of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).

The delegation is traveling to Shanghai to attend the second annual Taipei-Shanghai City Forum. The six-day forum aims to foster city exchanges and is co-sponsored by the Development and Research Foundation in Shanghai (上海發展研究基金會) and the Formosa Vitality Foundation (台灣生命力基金會) in Taipei.

Ma said yesterday that Taipei would abide by the "Eight No's," but he also said he hopes the council would relax its stance on cross-strait visits.

"The central government should not see us [local governments] as enemies, but as allies. It's a win-win situation for all if any efforts can be made to improve cross-strait relations," Ma said.

The Taipei mayor, who recently returned from a visit to Hong Kong, said he was afraid the rules are too strict for the delegation to follow.

"For example, they told us not to have any contact with ARATS officials. But what if we happen to shake hands with them without first knowing their identity? What are we going to do? Wash our hands afterwards? It just doesn't make any sense," Ma said.

"I just hope that the council will understand if anything unexpected or unavoidable happens," he added.